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Grizzlies Re-Sign Kalin Lucas, Hassan Whiteside

November 19th, 2014 at 5:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Grizzlies have re-signed Kalin Lucas and Hassan Whiteside, the team announced in a press release. The additions of Lucas and Whiteside today bring the Grizzlies’ roster count to 16 players, an allowance likely made because of the 20-game suspension that Nick Calathes is serving. The length and terms of the deals were not disclosed, though they are likely non-guaranteed, minimum salary arrangements.

This marks Lucas’ third stint with the Grizzlies this season, as he was with the Grizzlies during the summer league and the preseason before the franchise cut him a few days shy of opening night. Lucas was then re-signed to provide depth behind starting point Mike Conley, who had been nursing a tender ankle. He was waived for the second time on November 9th.

Lucas has not made a regular season appearance for Memphis after playing in all eight of the team’s preseason games, averaging 3.1 points and 1.0 assists in 8.0 minutes per contest. He contributed 17.0 PPG and 3.4 APG in 33.4 MPG during his senior year with the Michigan State Spartans in 2010/11 before logging time in Turkey, Greece and the D-League over the first three years of his pro career.

This will be Whiteside’s second deal with the Grizzlies this season. He was originally signed on September 25th and he appeared in five preseason games averaging 3.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks before being waived on October 22nd.

The league may grant hardship exceptions to the 15-man roster limit when a player goes down with an injury or illness after at least three players have already missed at least three games with injuries or illnesses of their own, as long as all four are expected to continue to miss time. A virus has sidelined Tony Allen, Kosta Koufos, Courtney Lee, Jon Leuer and Beno Udrih for the Grizzlies tonight, though none have missed as many as three games yet.

That means it’s most likely that the allowance for a 16th roster spot springs from the team’s ability to transfer Calathes to the Suspended List. Teams may do so once a player suspended by the league has sat out for five games. Calathes, who received the suspension in April, has already served 18 games, spanning last season’s playoffs and the start of the 2014/15 regular season, and his placement on the Suspended List allows the Grizzlies to add an extra player in his stead.

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Lakers To Work Out Dwight Buycks

November 19th, 2014 at 8:05am CST by Chuck Myron

NOVEMBER 19TH: Buycks is set to work out for the Lakers, among other clubs, Pick reports (on Twitter).

NOVEMBER 12TH: There’s a strong chance that Buycks ends up in China, a source tells Pick (Twitter link).

NOVEMBER 9TH, 7:20pm: Buycks is also under consideration by the Grizzlies, who waived guard Kalin Lucas earlier today, David Pick of Eurobasket reports (Twitter link). No signing is imminent, Pick adds.

5:28pm: Buycks had attempted to get out of his contract with Valencia last week in order to land a deal with the Thunder or Pacers, Pick reports (Twitter links). Pick also adds that Buycks is talking with a few NBA teams, but the Lakers aren’t currently one of them.

1:54pm: Buycks and Valencia have officially parted ways, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi).

NOVEMBER 7TH, 12:48pm: Dwight Buycks and his camp have reached a buyout agreement Valencia of Spain and are in discussions with the Lakers and Thunder, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. The Lakers had reportedly invited Buycks to training camp before he accepted a one-year deal with Valencia in July.

The 25-year-old point guard has put up 12.0 and 2.0 assists in a little more than 20 minutes per game in three Euroleague competition contests and 7.6 PPG and 1.4 APG in 16.6 MPG across all eight of Valencia’s games so far. Buycks earned a deal with the Raptors for last season after a breakout performance in the 2013 summer league, as Charania notes, but he made only 14 appearances, and Toronto waived him in July rather than guarantee his salary for another year.

The Thunder just signed Ish Smith to a non-guaranteed deal to become the club’s 16th player, an allowance the NBA has given them to offset their multitude of injuries. Oklahoma City is reportedly poised to seek a 17th player if Perry Jones III is to miss significant time, so perhaps Buycks is whom they’re targeting for that would-be opening.

Point guard is also an apparent need for the Lakers, who are without Steve Nash for the season. Ronnie Price has been seeing backup minutes on his non-guaranteed deal, but that deal becomes partially guaranteed if the Lakers don’t waive him by the end of November 15th. The Lakers have a similar arrangement with shooting guard Wayne Ellington, but all the rest of their contracts are guaranteed, and they haven’t received an allowance for a 16th player.

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Western Notes: Kerr, Nuggets, Kings, Pondexter

November 17th, 2014 at 12:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

Stephen Curry was one of the most vocal supporters of former Warriors coach Mark Jackson, but new coach Steve Kerr impressed the All-Star guard with the way he made a special effort to win the team’s trust. Curry shared his thoughts with TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his NBA.com Morning Tip.

“It’s always that kind of uncertainty, what it’s going to be like,” Curry said. “He did a great job over the summer of reaching out to every single player, getting to know us, talking about what his expectations were, which made us a little more comfortable, for sure. But we’re all grownups. We all can kind of compartmentalize your relationships, knowing that in situations Coach Kerr’s coming in prepared for the job and trying to take us to the next level, and our job is to go out and play. He did a great job during training camp of keeping it light, keeping it fun, doing some things that are different.” 

Jackson won plenty in Golden State, but Kerr is keeping it up, with the Warriors at 8-2 to start the season. Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

  • The Nuggets are off to a sluggish 2-7 start, but GM Tim Connelly isn’t about to resort to drastic measures, observes Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post. “Certainly we’ve struggled,” Connelly said. “But it’s early.” Nonetheless, ex-Nuggets coach George Karl has an interest in returning to coaching and has been keeping an eye on the team, as one of his former assistants tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
  • The Kings have recalled Eric Moreland from the D-League, the team announced. The power forward averaged 15.0 points and 13.0 rebounds over a pair of weekend games.
  • The four-year extension that Quincy Pondexter signed last year with the Grizzlies just kicked in for this season, and he’s fallen out of the rotation, as Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal notes in his subscription-only Pick-and-Pop column. The length of his deal dictates that Memphis look to trade him if he can’t find his way back onto the floor, Herrington opines.
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Grizzlies, Lakers Audition Tyrus Thomas

November 14th, 2014 at 5:06pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Grizzlies have brought in Tyrus Thomas for a workout, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). Thomas apparently left Memphis without an reaching an agreement with the team because he’s scheduled to let the Lakers take a look at his wares next, Kennedy adds, though the date of the Los Angeles workout was not relayed in Kennedy’s tweet.

Memphis looks to be in the market for a reserve big man with the team having brought in veteran forward Kenyon Martin earlier this week, though the reports were conflicting as to whether or not Martin was being looked at as a player or a coach. The Grizzlies have only 14 players on their roster after waiving Kalin Lucas this past weekend, so the team has the flexibility to take on Martin without needing to let anyone else go.

With Memphis less than $1MM shy of the luxury tax line, any deal would likely be a non-guaranteed, minimum-salary arrangement so as not to hamstring the franchise for any further moves later on in the season. But with Thomas looking to make a comeback after being out of the NBA since the Hornets placed him on amnesty waivers back in July of 2013, that would likely be in line with what the player and his new agent, Roger Montgomery of the Montgomery Sports Group, would expect.

As for the Lakers, the team has the league-maximum 15 players currently on its roster, so a corresponding move would be needed to accommodate Thomas if the team chose to sign him. The NBA recently granted Los Angeles a disabled player exception worth $1,498,680 as a result of the season-ending injury to Julius Randle, but it’s unlikely that the team would spend any more than the minimum salary to ink Thomas, though that is just my speculation.

Thomas’ career averages through 400 contests are 7.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 0.9 APG, and 1.3 BPG. His career slash line is .438/.235/.732.

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Grizzlies To Audition Kenyon Martin

November 12th, 2014 at 8:10am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 8:10am: Today’s meeting is about a coaching position, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter links). Given the conflicting reports, it seems possible that the Grizzlies have interest in Martin both as a player and as a coach, though that’s just my speculation. Player-coaches aren’t allowed under the current collective bargaining agreement, so the Grizzlies and Martin would have to choose one or the other.

TUESDAY, 11:42pm: The Grizzlies are set to work 14-year veteran Kenyon Martin on Wednesday, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). No signing is imminent, Tillery cautions, but Memphis nonetheless apparently wants a close look at the former No. 1 overall pick who’s a month and a half shy of his 37th birthday.

The Andy Miller client met with the Rockets last month, though there were conflicting reports about whether the visit was in connection with a possible roster spot or a coaching gig. There’s otherwise been paltry interest in Martin since last season, when he finished up his second year with the Knicks. In April he expressed a desire to return to play for New York and suggested that he had no intention to retire just yet.

Memphis has only 14 players after waiving Kalin Lucas this weekend, so the team has the flexibility to take on Martin without letting anyone else go. The Grizzlies have a sliver of the mid-level exception left over, but it’s not enough to accommodate Martin, whose prorated minimum salary would exceed that amount. The team is less than $1MM shy of the luxury tax line, and while it appears as though a prorated minimum salary contract for Martin would fit beneath that threshold, it would severely limit the Grizzlies’ flexibility to make other moves unless it were a non-guaranteed arrangement.

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Offseason In Review: Memphis Grizzlies

November 10th, 2014 at 11:04pm CST by Zachary Links

Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees, and more will be covered, as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.

Signings

Extensions

Trades

  • Acquired 2014 pick No. 35 from the Jazz in exchange for the more favorable of Toronto’s and Boston’s 2016 second-round picks.

Waiver Claims

  • None

Draft Picks

Camp Invitees

Departing Players

Rookie Contract Option Decisions

  • None

After a rough start to the 2013/14 season, the Grizzlies got Marc Gasol back into the lineup and got back to the kind of basketball that we’re accustomed to.  From January on, they fired on all cylinders and managed to make the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the brutally tough West.  The Grizzlies pushed the Thunder to a seven game series in the first round and coach Dave Joerger was, well, nearly fired.  You read that right.

After owner Robert Pera fired assistant GM Stu Lash, CEO Jason Levien followed him out the door, putting the futures of Joerger, front office exec John Hollinger, and others in question.  The Wolves came calling for Joerger but, ultimately, he wound up staying put while GM Chris Wallace saw his power restored.

The biggest question surrounding the Grizzlies offseason was whether they would keep Zach Randolph in place.  Randolph had a $16.5MM option on 2014/15 but was pushing hard for an extension.  Right after the draft, Z-Bo picked up his option and the two sides shook hands on a two-year, $20MM deal, which would seem to be a pretty fair deal for both sides.  Randolph, 33, gets a nice payday on what could be his last big deal.  The Grizzlies, meanwhile, get to keep their star forward at a reasonable price.

Randolph might not be a top flight player in his age 35 season, but the additional two years on his contract is preferable to the three that he was seeking.  And, it’s hard to say how things would have played out for Z-Bo in free agency, but he was one of the top players available on the open market and ranked 10th in our free agent power rankings at the time.  The new deal wasn’t cheap, but Randolph was bound to find other lucrative offers elsewhere.

While one big name vet was retained, Memphis lost another.  The Grizzlies were discussing a new deal with Mike Miller for some time over the summer but eventually they informed him that they’d be going in a different direction.

That direction, it turns out, was vertical: the Grizzlies replaced the sharpshooting Miller with prolific high flyer Vince Carter.  VC can’t get up like he used to, but he averaged a solid 11.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 3.7 APG in 24.4 minutes per night for Dallas last season.  He’s also a pretty solid outside shooter, even if he’s not on Miller’s level in that regard.  The eight-time All-Star came aboard on a three-year, $12.264MM deal, though the final year of the pact is only partially guaranteed.  As Carter later explained, Dallas had him on the backburner while they waited to see how the Chandler Parsons situation would turn out.  Memphis gave him something of a take-it-or-leave-it offer, and he had little choice.

“I kind of understood how it goes from there. It’s a business. I get it, so there’s no hard feelings or anything like that. I understand how it goes. It was a great situation, a great offer from Memphis. It was kind of like, ‘If I pass on this now, what would be left here [in Dallas] for me?’ Obviously not much. Had to move on,” Carter said in October.

The Grizzlies’ other signing was a move to keep one of their own – guard Beno Udrih.  Beno didn’t see a lot of burn for Memphis during the regular season – just 55 minutes, in fact – but he played a key role for them in the playoffs when Nick Calathes was suspended.  Udrih averaged 7.9 points and 1.7 assists in 16.4 minutes per game in that first round series and was rewarded with a two-year, $4.247MM deal.

With Ed Davis and James Johnson moving on, the Grizzlies got reinforcements in the draft.  With the No. 22 overall pick, Memphis selected UCLA shooting guard Jordan Adams, a player widely regarded as one of the draft’s best scorers but also one of the worst athletes in the class.  Some people aren’t crazy about the pick, especially since Duke guard Rodney Hood was still on the board, but time will tell if the advanced stats tell the real story when it comes to Adams.  In the second round, the Grizzlies plucked blue collar rebounder Jarnell Stokes out of Tennessee.  Stokes doesn’t have world class athleticism or size (he’s only 6’6″), but he has tons of grit and is deceptively strong.

All in all, it was a rather quiet offseason in Memphis.  But, given the chaos of the spring, that’s just fine for the Grizzlies.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

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Southwest Rumors: Felton, Powell, Capela, Davis

November 10th, 2014 at 10:02pm CST by Charlie Adams

It’s possible the Mavs don’t activate the injured Raymond Felton prior to the Dallas’ matchup versus the Kings tomorrow, reveals Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. Once activated, Felton can begin serving the four-game suspension he was slapped with this summer after pleading guilty to a gun charge. While we wait for the 30-year-old to get healthy enough to begin serving his punishment, let’s have a look at the latest from around the Southwest..

  • Josh Powell is committed to his role as player development coach for the Rockets and has turned down multiple offers to play overseas, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports passes along amid his weekly power rankings. Powell appeared in a single game for Houston last year after failing to secure an NBA contract during the previous two seasons.
  • The Rockets have assigned Clint Capela to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. Capela, the 25th overall pick in the 2014 draft, will join the Rio Grande Valley Vipers after appearing briefly in just one of Houston’s first six contests.
  • Ed Davis rejected a long-term rookie scale extension offer from the Grizzlies last October that would have paid him $5MM to $6MM annually, reports Ronald Tillery of the Commerical Appeal in a subscription only piece. The big man found himself in a difficult situation playing for Memphis last year, as he saw few minutes in a stacked frontcourt. Tillery observes that Davis doesn’t hold any ill will against his former team, but the Commercial Appeal scribe’s perceived lack of bitterness from Davis runs in contrast to the words that the 22-year-old had about the Grizzlies, which we passed along earlier tonight.
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And-Ones: Kobe, Wolves, Extensions, D’Antoni

November 10th, 2014 at 10:01am CST by Chuck Myron

A work stoppage cost two months of the season the last time players and owners negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement, but union executive director Michele Roberts wants to avoid a repeat come 2017, as she tells Michael Lee of The Washington Post.

“I don’t want a lockout. I don’t want a strike. What I want is anything any reasonable person would want — and that is labor peace,” Roberts said. “That’s what I hope for, but I’ve got to be prepared for a lockout.”

The specter of the next labor negotiations will continue to grow as they creep closer and as Roberts continues to settle into her role. However, with Roberts and Adam Silver replacing Billy Hunter and David Stern in their respective roles on opposite sides, there’s reason to expect the talks will proceed differently this time around. Here’s more from around the NBA:

  • Kobe Bryant reiterated to USA Today’s Sam Amick that he can’t envision playing past the end of his contract in 2015/16, and he was even more definitive in his declaration that he won’t ask for a trade, no matter how often the Lakers lose this season. “It’s not going to happen,” Bryant said. “It’s not going to happen. You go through the good times, you’ve got to go through the bad times.”
  • Timberwolves executive/coach Flip Saunders has no plans to add another point guard in absence of Ricky Rubio, who’s out up to eight weeks with a sprained left ankle, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Rookie Zach LaVine is starting in Rubio’s place while Mo Williams remains on the bench.
  • Saunders and Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau are among many who believe the league should have an earlier deadline for rookie scale extensions so that negotiations don’t spill into the season, observes Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press.
  • Mike D’Antoni has been hanging around Hornets practices and games and giving feedback to Charlotte coach Steve Clifford, notes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. “I know this: He was in Charlotte for three days, and we had a great time. We talked basketball, like, two or three hours a day,” Clifford said. “He still has a real passion for coaching. I know that.”
  • The Grizzlies have recalled rookies Jordan Adams and Jarnell Stokes from the D-League, the team announced via press release. Memphis assigned the pair on Saturday, in time for Adams to score 20 and Stokes to put up 13 points and 13 rebounds in a preseason game for the Iowa Energy.
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Grizzlies Waive Kalin Lucas

November 9th, 2014 at 4:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Grizzlies have waived guard Kalin Lucas, the team announced in a press release. This is now the second time this season that Lucas has been let go by Memphis. The 25-year-old was with the Grizzlies during the summer league and the preseason before the franchise cut him a few days shy of opening night.

Memphis later re-signed Lucas to provide depth behind starting point Mike Conley, who had been nursing a tender ankle. His latest deal was non-guaranteed, so the franchise isn’t on the hook for any additional funds as a result of letting Lucas go. This move reduces the Grizzlies’ roster count to 14 players, one shy of the league maximum. It is unclear if the team intends to sign another player to fill the now vacant slot. With Nick Calathes set to return from his drug-related suspension shortly, it’s possible the team deemed Lucas expendable and intends to keep the slot open in case of an injury, which has been an unfortunate trend in the league this season.

Lucas has not made a regular season appearance for Memphis after playing in all eight of the team’s preseason games, averaging 3.1 points and 1.0 assists in 8.0 minutes per contest. He contributed 17.0 PPG and 3.4 APG in 33.4 MPG during his senior year with the Michigan State Spartans in 2010/11 before logging time in Turkey, Greece and the D-League over the first three years of his pro career.

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Western Notes: Bryant, Garrett, Craft, Smith

November 8th, 2014 at 8:42pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kobe Bryant needs to take a step back and allow some of his teammates to take charge of the Lakers, opines Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Coach Byron Scott agrees. “I’ve talked to a couple individuals about just being a little bit more assertive, not relying on Kobe as much,” Scott said. “You guys can ask Kobe this. I think he wants to get those guys to step up. He really does. Take shots when they have them. Not defer to him as much.” Earlier this week in a loss to the Suns, Bryant took 37 shots, while the rest of the team’s starters combined to take only 35.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

  • Diante Garrett will be returning to the Iowa Energy, who are the D-League affiliates of the Grizzlies, the team announced. The Blazers recently waived the Iowa State product after spending just a month on their roster.
  • Aaron Craft is mulling a contract offer from Partizan Belgrade of the Serbian League, Orazio Cauchi of Sportando reports. Craft spent training camp with the Warriors and was set to play for Golden State’s D-League affiliate this season. Though the amount of Partizan Belgrade’s offer to Craft has not been reported, it’s likely for more than the guard would have earned playing in Santa Cruz this season, though that is just my speculation.
  • Ish Smith is excited to be the newest member of the Thunder because of his relationship with his new teammates, writes Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman. “I’m really good friends with a lot of guys, played against them. Russ (Russell Westbrook), (Kevin Durant), Lance (Thomas), all in the ’06 class, so I know a lot of them,” Smith said.
  • Canada is producing basketball prospects at unheard of rates, writes Dave Skretta of the Associated Press.  Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett of the Wolves are the past two No. 1 overall NBA draft picks and are each of Canadian descent. Many, including Bennett, have attributed their interest in basketball to watching Vince Carter when he was on the Raptors. “That’s when we seen him doing all these types of dunks,” Bennett said of watching Carter. “We just had a love for his game.”

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

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